Cruising The Seven Seas: Memory Lane

Memory Lane

8th April 2013

Logging into my Facebook account, I had a notification from Gudrun, from my Miami training group.

“Exactly two years ago we all finished the training in Miami.”

Two years ago today we finished training and were slowly despatched from the group to join our cruise ships and start our first contracts. Three days after this photo take was taken, Hernan and I join the Mariner of the Seas in Rhodes, Greece.

It seems crazy that it all happened two years ago and it only seems like yesterday. To be fair, I’ve been lost in time and telling people I started working on cruise ships three years ago in 2010, rather than 2011. Whoops! Bubaloo!

So, what’s changed? To be fair, pretty much everything has changed.

Unfortunately, I had to resign from Image in December 2012 due to having surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. After having surgery and getting the all clear to return to work from the surgeon, Image Human Resources informed me that I needed new medical papers.

Renewing medical papers in Uruguay isn’t the easiest when you aren’t a member of a Uruguayan hospital or have medical insurance. The cheapest medical quote I received was a tear jerking $3,000!

Image being Image, wouldn’t give me a new assignment until I had new medical papers. My existing medical papers still had 3 months until their expiry date. Flying to Miami where the medical is $350 and then join ship, wasn’t an option. Image insisted I’d have to fly myself back to Uruguay from Miami (roughly $2,000) and wait for an assignment… only to fly myself back to the United States, quite possibly Miami. See the logic? No, neither do I.

Emailing Image for the penultimate time, I told HR the score. There was no way I could afford to pay $3,000 for a medical and $1,000 plus for a flight to my next ship or pay $2,000 for a return flight to Miami, $350 for the medical, 5 days in a hotel to then pay $1,000 for another flight to Miami to join my next ship.

“Let us know what you are doing” was their reply and that was the last time I heard from Image until I sent in my resignation a month later.

Taking a walk down memory lane, I can still remember us all sitting by the swimming pool, drinking beer, tapping away on our laptops, Pavlo, my Image “husband” acting the ass making trash art movies and a couple of the lads shooting hoops. Even to this day, we are still in contact, all thanks to Facebook, but only a few remain with Image.

Gudrun, is preparing to start her 4^th contract and making her way around the Disney fleet.

David, the portrait/candid photographer will be signing off from his 3^rd contract soon and planning to go back for a fouth. Out of all of us, he’s done the most travelling thanks to working onboard a Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 for the World Cruise.

My lovely stepbrother “Hermanastro” Hernan is in Buenos Aires and started up a photography business with Fede (from Mariner of the Seas) and things seem to be looking up for him.

Becks… meh, Becks is still being Becks and given up of the idea of returning to ships.

Sasha has quit ships and now living near London working as a wedding photographer and as she puts it “loving it!”

Chetan left after his second contract and the lucky git in living the high life working as a photographer in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I use the word “working” loosely as the man spends the vast majority of his time drinking and getting “crudo”.

As for myself, after resigning from Image, I packed my bags (not that I’d unpacked them) and arrived in London at the end of January.

Now, here I am in…Nottingham. Not exactly where I thought I’d see myself, but I’m having a great time. As small as the ship world is, I met up with a “nearly Image photographer” Tom Johnson from Zoran and Sanela’s training group, who I’ve been in contact with for about a year and a half and lives in Nottingham. Like all people I’ve met from Image/cruise ships, he’s turned out to be a great friend.

As much as I miss my days on cruise ships, mainly Mariner of the Seas, that particular chapter was drawn to an abrupt close and the chances of going back are slim to none. I’m back on land, enjoying the freedom, everyday ways of land life, driving a car and throwing snowballs!

The best thing I gained from my time on cruise ships, other than the travel and experience, are the fantastic people I’ve met along the way: Lee, Luci, Chet, Becks, Tom, Hernan, Zoran, Sandra, Aniko, Carolee, Dom, Gaz… the list goes on and on! It’s not about the itinerary. It’s the people. Your team. They are the people that make your contract extra special. It’s all about having a smashing team who work hard and play harder.

As Hernan so nicely put it, hitting the nail square on the head, “Ship life changed everyone’s life and perspective of the world. It was a great experience…”

…and one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and will never forget.

The ship has sailed, cheers to the good times and here goes nothing… a new start; a new chapter on land.